On Monday, September 14, the Braga Youth Center hosted the exhibition of the 2026 National Young Creators Exhibition (MNJC), an initiative of the Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth (IPDJ), which showcases works by young artists residing in Portugal. After stops in Faro, Portalegre, and Viseu, the exhibition chose Braga as the fourth and final stop on its tour of the country.

 On display at the Braga Youth Center through today, the exhibition features works from various fields of contemporary art, including illustration, painting, digital art, textile art, and photography, showcasing the diverse artistic languages, perspectives, and forms of expression of a new generation of creators.

 The visit was attended by Hortense Santos, Councilwoman for Youth at the Braga City Council; Vítor Dias, Regional Director for the North at the Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth (IPDJ); Pedro Couto Soares, director of the Braga Youth Center; and artist Bruno de Almeida, creator of one of the works in the exhibition, titled “Protesto.”

 For Hortense Santos, the presence of the National Exhibition of Young Creators in the city “reinforces Braga’s commitment to creating opportunities for young people to present their work, experiment with new forms of expression, and find spaces where their creativity can be recognized and valued.” “Hosting this exhibition also brings young creators closer to the community and affirms youth culture and participation as important aspects of city life,” she added on the sidelines of the visit.

 Vítor Dias, Regional Director for the North at the IPDJ, highlights the importance of the initiative’s touring nature: “For several decades, the National Exhibition of Young Creators has been a tool for stimulating and promoting young artistic creation in Portugal. Bringing these works to different parts of the country allows us to expand their visibility, reach new audiences, and create opportunities for recognition for young people who are building their artistic careers.”

 Pedro Couto Soares, director of the Braga Youth Center, also underscores the importance of hosting projects of this nature. “We want the Youth Center to increasingly become a space open to young people’s creativity, experimentation, and expression. The presence of this exhibition brings that ambition to life and allows us to make the space available not only to the youth of Braga but also to national projects that promote new generations of creators,” he says.

 Bruno de Almeida, an artist from Porto and creator of the work *Protesto*, who was present at the opening, highlighted the opportunity provided by the initiative to give visibility to emerging art. “For those developing an artistic career, it is very important to have spaces and initiatives that allow them to showcase their work outside of the usual contexts and bring it into contact with different audiences, and the exhibition’s touring nature creates precisely this possibility,” he states.

A National Program to Support Young Creators

 Created in 1997, the National Exhibition of Young Creators is an initiative managed by the IPDJ, in partnership with Gerador, and is recognized as one of the most comprehensive national programs supporting the creative work of young artists.

 The 2026 edition features 15 artistic disciplines: Digital Art, Textile Art, Film, Interdisciplinary Work, Dance, Recitation, Sculpture, Photography, Illustration, Jewelry, Literature, Fashion, Music, Painting, and Theater.

 The 2026 Exhibition features works by André Filipe Pereira de Abreu, Beatriz Félix, Bruno de Almeida, Estefânia De Sousa Moreno and Iván Grajeda, Filipe Miguel Nobre da Silva, Inês Louro, Joana Cruz, Lia Nogueira, Margarida Couceiro, Margarida Oliveira Martins, Maria Luís Soares Resende, Mariana Santana, Rita Castanheira, Sancha, and Vasco Moura.

 The event in Braga is the result of a partnership between the Municipality of Braga, the Braga Youth Center, and the Northern Regional Directorate of the Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth (IPDJ), strengthening the collaboration between local and national entities in promoting participation, creativity, and artistic expression among the younger generations.